2017 UA Sports Hall of Honor Class Announced
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Nine former University of Arkansas student-athletes will be inducted as members of the 2017 class of the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor this September.
The 2017 class consists of former Razorback football greats Ken Hamlin, Madre Hill, Louis Campbell and Bo Busby, baseball All-American Troy Eklund, men’s golf great Jack O’Keefe, women’s basketball star Amy Wright, women’s tennis standout Chin Bee Khoo and men’s track and field multiple-time All-American Melvin Lister. The 2017 inductees were elected to the UA Sports Hall of Honor based on a vote by former Razorback letter winners in conjunction with the A Club. The UA Sports Hall of Honor, including the induction weekend, is coordinated by the Razorback Foundation.
“Congratulations to these nine outstanding Razorbacks on their selection to the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor, Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Jeff Long says. “Since our program began, thousands of Razorback student-athletes have competed for the University of Arkansas. This year’s inductees are among the best to ever put on a Razorback uniform. As the Razorback family, we cheered them on to those successes and this fall we will celebrate the legacy they have left behind.”
The 2017 class will be inducted during the Hall of Honor weekend, Sept. 7-9. Hall of Honor weekend includes a golf tournament at the Fayetteville Country Club and an induction banquet Friday evening at the Fayetteville Town Center. Inductees will also be recognized during half-time of Arkansas’ football on-campus home opener against TCU at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Game time will be announced at a later date.
Tables and individual tickets to the induction banquet and the Hall of Honor golf tournament may be purchased from the Razorback Foundation. Sponsorships are also available for the banquet and golf outing. For more information, visit RazorbackFoundation.com or call the Razorback Foundation at (479) 443-9000.
2017 UA Sports Hall of Honor Inductees
Ken Hamlin
Hamlin finished his career as the school’s record holder in tackles despite playing only three seasons from 2000-02. He racked up 381 career tackles before entering the NFL Draft following his junior campaign. In his final collegiate season, he earned first-team All-America honors from CollegeFootballNews.com and first-team All-SEC recognition from the Associated Press, SEC Coaches and Sporting News after he recorded 159 tackles, the second-highest single-season total in school history. Hamlin earned first-team All-SEC honors and honorable mention All-America accolades in 2001 after he turned in his second straight 100+ tackle campaign with 118 stops. In 2000, he collected 104 tackles en route to freshman All-America honors from Sporting News and Football News and a spot on the SEC All-Freshman Team. Hamlin also is tied for 12th on the school’s career interceptions list with nine after tying for the team lead in each of his three seasons. He helped lead Arkansas to three straight bowl games during his career and an SEC Western Division title in 2002. The Seattle Seahawks drafted him in the 2003 NFL Draft, and he played for the Seahawks from 2003-06. Hamlin played for the Dallas Cowboys from 2007-10 and earned a trip to the 2007 Pro Bowl. He finished his eight-year NFL career with the Baltimore Ravens and the Indianapolis Colts.
Madre Hill
One of the most explosive running backs in Razorback history, Hill burst onto the scene early in Arkansas’ Southeastern Conference Era lettering in 1994-95 and again in 1998. Hill helped lead the Razorbacks to their first SEC Championship Game appearance in 1995. He was a first-team All-SEC selection in 1995 later was named to the Arkansas All-Decade Team and as an SEC Legend. He rushed 541 times for 2,407 yards and 25 touchdowns, tied for the sixth-highest career total in school history. He is tied for ninth on Arkansas’ career 100-yard rushing games (8). He holds UA single-game records for rushing touchdowns with six against South Carolina in 1995 and rushing attempts with 45 against Auburn in 1995. That season he broke school records with 1,387 rushing yards and six 100-yard rushing games. His 15 rushing touchdowns from 1995 are tied for fifth on the UA single-season list. Hill was a team captain in 1998 and helped the Razorbacks to a share of the SEC Western Division title making him a part of two SEC Western Division Championship teams. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns and played three seasons in the NFL, including advancing to Super Bowl XXXVII in 2002 with Oakland. Hill is now the fourth generation overseer of a family owned and operated company, RazorClean Inc. – a management, contracting and supply company.
Troy Eklund
An All-American outfielder in one of the most successful tenures in the history of Razorback Baseball, Eklund lettered from 1986-89 and helped Arkansas advance to a pair of College World Series berths (1987 and 1989). He named an All-American in 1989 and earned All-Southwest Conference honors as a junior (1988) and a senior (1989). He led the team in runs scored with 54 in 1988 and 62 in 1989. As a junior (1988), he tallied 11 home runs, 60 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. In his final season (1989), Eklund recorded a .323 batting average with nine home runs, 62 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. He helped UA go 39-23 in 1988 and reach the NCAA Regionals, and 51-16 with a trip to the College World Series in 1989. He is tied for first with 12 triples in a season and his 17 career triples ranks fourth all-time while his 32 home runs are seventh, 182 runs scored sixth, 180 RBI fourth, 93 extra base hits seventh and 13 sacrifice flies fifth. He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 1988, but decided to return to Arkansas for his senior year. Following his Razorback career, Eklund was drafted in the 25th round of the Major League Baseball Draft by the Texas Rangers and played two years of professional baseball. He currently serves as the color analyst for Razorback Baseball on SEC Network+ and Cox Sports Television broadcasts.
Jack O’Keefe
A 2016 inductee into the Arkansas State Golf Association Hall of Fame, O’Keefe is the first University of Arkansas golfer to earn All-America honors four times (1989-93). He also earned a total of three all-conference honors during his collegiate career. In 1991, he became one of the last UA golfers to earn All-Southwest Conference honors and when the Hogs switched to the Southeastern Conference he picked up All-SEC Honors in 1992 and 1993. O’Keefe helped Arkansas to four top 10 NCAA Championship finishes in his career including finishing seventh (1989), tied for ninth (1991), eighth (1992) and seventh (1993). He ranks in the top 10 in school history with 13 top-10 individual finishes from 1990-93, including three individual titles at the 1991 and 1992 Colorado Fox-Acres Invitational and the 1993 Border Olympics. He helped lead Arkansas to 10 team tournament wins his final two years. O’Keefe went on to a successful professional career on the Hooters, Australia, Nike and PGA Tours. He earned his PGA Tour Card in 1997 and competed in the 1996 U.S. Open while also being named the Rookie of the Year on the Australian Tour in 1994. Following his playing career, O’Keefe pursued coaching and is currently the Director of Golf and head men’s golf coach at Augusta University.
Melvin Lister
A member of the University of Arkansas men’s track and field team from 1999-2000, Lister was an eight-time All- American and one of the most accomplished jumpers in school history. He was also a four-time SEC individual champion and a five-time NCAA champion 1999 NCAA indoor – triple jump, 1999 NCAA outdoor – long jump, 2000 NCAA indoor – long jump, 2000 NCAA indoor – triple jump, 2000 NCAA outdoor – triple jump) during his time in Fayetteville. During his time as a Razorback, Lister was a part of numerous team titles, including four SEC (1999 – Indoor & Outdoor; 2000 – Indoor & Outdoor) and three NCAA titles (1999 – Indoor & Outdoor; 2000 – Indoor). The two-time Olympian for Team USA (2000 Sydney Olympics – long jump; 2004 Athens Olympics – triple jump) is the only American jumper to win the U.S. Olympic Trials in the long jump (2000) and return to win the triple jump (2004) in the next Trials. He was a part of the squad that set the 4x400m (outdoor) record in 2000 with a time of 3:02.02 and he was also a member of the outdoor sprint-medley relay team that ran 3:12.13 in 2000.
Amy Wright
The all-time record holder for assists in a career (717) and second for a single season (205), Wright finished her career as the first starting point guard to take her team to four consecutive post-season appearances (1999-2000, WNIT; 2001-02, NCAA). As a freshman, Wright guided Arkansas to the 1999 WNIT Championship. Her teams won 77 games, including three 20-win seasons, for one of the most successful four-year periods for Arkansas. Her senior season team set the Arkansas record for the least turnovers in a season. After her playing career, she has become a successful Division I women’s basketball assistant coach. An SEC Academic Honor Roll selection and member of the Arkansas Academic Honor Roll as a sophomore (1999-2000), Wright never missed a game, playing in a school-record 131 consecutive contests. She was named to the Women’s Basketball News Service preseason All-America team in 2001-02. Following her collegiate career, Wright participated in the WNBA Pre-Draft Camp and was drafted by the Detroit Shock in 2002. A native of Williamsburg, Ind., Wright earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing and management from Arkansas in 2002. She completed her master’s degree in sports and administration from Ohio University in December 2012. Following her playing career, Wright went into coaching and currently serves as an assistant women’s basketball coach at Texas A&M University.
Chin Bee Khoo
A three-time All-American, Khoo lettered in tennis from 1998-2001 including earning All-SEC honors in 2001. The only three-time All-America women’s tennis player in school history, she led Arkansas to 57 dual match wins and three consecutive NCAA team berths including a trip to the Round of 16 in 1998. A three-time NCAA singles participant, she won at least one match in the NCAA singles draw in three-straight tournaments (1999-2001). Khoo was the first in school history to earn top 20 ITA singles rankings, doing so in both 1999 (19) and 2000 (14). She was also named to the ITA Academic All-America Team (1999), was the ITA Regional Player to Watch (1999) and the ITA Regional Senior of the Year (2001). She also earned SEC Academic Honor Roll honors three times during her career. She ranks in the top 10 in career (89) and single season singles wins (37) and is fifth all-time in the career singles winning percentage (735). Khoo’s 32 doubles wins in a season also ranks in the top 10. Khoo was also a three-time Milwaukee Tennis Classic Champion (1999-2001).
Louis Campbell
Campbell lettered for the Razorbacks from 1970-72, serving as a team captain in 1972, and was named to the Arkansas All-Decade Team. He was named Outstanding Defensive Player at the 1971 Liberty Bowl after he grabbed three interceptions, a number that stands as the Arkansas bowl record and is tied for the Liberty Bowl record. His three interceptions also are tied for second on the Arkansas single-game interceptions list. He had four games with multiple interceptions, and his 12 career interceptions are tied for third on UA’s all-time list. He led the SWC with seven interceptions as a junior in 1971, tied for second on the school’s single-season list. He nabbed three interceptions as a senior and two during his sophomore season as Arkansas finished the season 9-2 and ranked 11th in the country. Campbell returned to Arkansas in 1990 and served a total of 18 years as a coach and athletics administrator, including nine seasons as an assistant football coach at Arkansas under Coaches Jack Crowe, Joe Kines, Danny Ford and Houston Nutt. Campbell was the secondary coach in 1995 when Arkansas made its first SEC Football Championship Game. He returned to the field as an interim defensive coordinator for the Hogs’ win over Texas in the 2000 Cotton Bowl and for the 2006 season.
Bo Busby
Busby lettered for Arkansas from 1973-76. He was a first-team All-Southwest Conference selection in 1975 and a three-time academic all-conference honoree. The safety was also named to Arkansas’ 1970sAll-Decade Team. He won the team’s Chism Reed Outstanding Senior for Leadership Award and was recognized as a National Football Foundation Scholar in 1976. He recorded 225 tackles in his four seasons. In his senior season, he registered 24 tackles, 1.0 for loss, a team-high six pass breakups and one fumble recovery. As a junior, he recorded 87 tackles, five pass breakups and two interceptions. After his football career, he earned his medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and founded the Cardiovascular Surgery Center of South Arkansas at Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Pine Bluff. Busby also serves on the Board of Directors of the Razorback Foundation.
